The Watertown Common Council voted unanimously on March 18 to approve a resolution placing an order for a replacement ladder truck and to amend the resolution’s delivery language so the vehicle is not scheduled to arrive before 2028.

Council members discussed the timeline for borrowing and delivery and asked for more detail about maintenance history, cancellation terms and the resale value of the existing vehicle. A staff member advising the council said the city’s typical borrowing schedule results in proceeds arriving March 1 and that non-infrastructure purchases carry an 18-month required-spend constraint tied to bond rules. To reduce timing risk, the council amended the resolution language that originally referenced 2027 so the truck would not arrive before Jan. 1, 2028.

Fire department leadership and staff described rising maintenance costs and parts shortages. The meeting record shows the truck failed a five-year test this year and that maintenance spending on the vehicle was $47,000 in 2024; earlier years were lower (roughly $6,000–$7,000 in 2021–2023, $25,000 in 2019 and $17,000 in 2020). The discussion noted parts are increasingly hard to obtain and that some repairs recently have been costly.

Council members pressed staff on the contract’s cancellation language. Staff explained that the vendor’s contract requires payment in full at apparatus completion and inspection, and that a cancellation clause (item 9) would leave the buyer responsible for actual costs incurred up to cancellation: factory visits, equipment-specific costs and any amounts the vendor cannot recoup by reselling the vehicle. The council said the contract originally included percentage-based cancellation charges that have since been removed; staff offered to clarify that language before final execution.

Meeting discussion also covered resale and trade-in prospects for the outgoing ladder truck. Staff said surplus sales or refurbishment are possible, and that smaller municipalities sometimes buy and refurbish used apparatus, but resale values for large ladder trucks vary and may be limited.

After the amendment to change the year from 2027 to 2028 passed on a voice vote, the council voted 8-0 to approve the amended resolution. The resolution as amended authorizes ordering the truck; it does not yet commit the city to the final financing or delivery beyond the amended timing language. Council members requested staff circulate maintenance records and any final contract language clarifying cancellation fees and payment timing.

Next steps identified in the meeting: finalize contract language with the vendor, confirm the procurement and financing schedule consistent with bond rules, and provide the council with the detailed maintenance and cost records requested during the session.